


Hearts and Mettle

by marcbanaba



Series: RWBY Swap Fics That No One Asked For [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Power Swap, F/F, Power Swap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28262367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marcbanaba/pseuds/marcbanaba
Summary: Yang Xiao-Long wasn't exactly ashamed of her semblance. Yeah, it can make her a cold-hearted bitch and sometimes drives people away, but it can be powerful in its own right.That doesn't make her any less confused. What was the universe on when it made her soul-manifested power the ability to remove her own heart?(Mettle!Yang AU)
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Series: RWBY Swap Fics That No One Asked For [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2125578
Comments: 24
Kudos: 135





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Idea popped in my head when I saw a tumblr post comparing "Gold" and "Hero". Then I thought it would be pretty funny seeing Ironwood with Yang's semblance.  
> Then I thought it would be pretty interesting seeing Yang with Ironwood's.

"I can't believe my little sister is going to Beacon with me!" Yang exclaims, hugging (and suffocating) her sister in exaggerated joy. "This is the best day ever!"

"Please stop..." The small girl in her arms groans, trying to wiggle her way out of the embrace.

"But I'm so proud of you!" The blonde loudly says, grinning. A few teens around them look their way.

_Lower your voice. You're causing a scene._

Leaning down to her sister, she whispers in her ear. "What's with you? Aren't you excited?" She asks, a hint of concern in her voice.

"Of course I am..." Ruby whispers back. "I just... I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything."

Yang pulls her in a one-armed hug, smiling. "But you are special." She says, patting her sister's back.

Not much of note happens during the rest of the ride, save a news report of Torchwick, ( _Ruby was lucky, nothing more. Have Torchwick taken her seriously, she would be injured. Or dead.)_ The White Fang, ( _An organization that would have not been formed have idiots looked past a pair of ears.)_ a speech from Glynda Goodwitch ( _Stop tuning her out and listen. You may miss crucial information.)_ and someone vomiting on her shoes. ( _Ew.)_ Finally, they arrive in Beacon.

"Ohmygosh sis! That kid has a collapsible staff! And she has a fire-"

"Easy there little sister, they're just weapons." Yang says, grabbing Ruby's hood.

"Just weapons?! Yang! They're an extension of ourselves! They're part of us! Oh they're so cool!"

_Keep her quiet. Now she's the one causing a scene._

"Well why can't you swoon over your own weapon?" Yang says, trying to find a middle ground between keeping her sister happy and her semblance. It's a jerk, (and that's a weird way to describe something that was actually a part of her) but it was often right. "Aren't you happy with it?"

"Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose!" Unfortunately, it seems that getting her to talk about her weapon didn't help at all. She just managed to get her from unfolding Crescent Rose, although that didn't stop her from waving it around in its rifle form. "I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people but better!"

_Idiot_

Yang, sending a mental command to her brain to shut up, masks her discomfort by smirking and playfully pulling Ruby's hood over her face. "Come on, why don't you make friends of your own?"

Ruby puts her hood back, frowning. "But why would I need friends if I have you?" She asks.

_You can't baby her forever._

"I won't be around all the time." Yang says, putting both hands on Ruby's shoulders. "And I don't want my favorite little sister to be lonely." She smiles warmly. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices a crowd of people. Not a group of friends, but just a bunch of teens that were together by chance.

_No. That's a terrible plan._

"And besides..." Yang continues, ignoring Mettle listing how terrible this course of action this is. "It's kinda inevitable you meet someone you'd bond with." She steers Ruby to the direction of the crowd, with Ruby looking too deep in thought to notice.

"But..." 

"Like right now!" Yang says, pushing her sister into the crowd, and watched Ruby get carried away by the crowd of teens, rushing to get into Beacon. She daintily skips away, laughing.

"Yaaang!" Ruby wails, seeing her sister disappear into the crowd. Ohhhh, she was so gonna get her for this.

* * *

As Yang moves out of the crowd still smiling a bit, she was left with her own thoughts. Not always a good thing for her.

_There's a good chance that she'll make an enemy instead of a friend, knowing her._

_The advice you gave her was hypocritical as well. You don't have any friends._

Yang scowls, her lavender eyes scrunching shut as she rubs her head, as if warding away a headache. She knows her semblance was right. It may be uncaring about emotions and downright cruel at times, but that was how it's made. The fact that wasn't even the worst aspect of her semblance still bugs her.

"Screw it. This isn't Signal. This isn't Patch. This is Beacon." She says to herself, opening her eyes. "I can make friends too." She says with determination. 

She isn't the weird girl at Patch, and she isn't the cold bitch back at Signal. She was Yang Xiao-Long, student of Beacon Academy. This was a fresh start for her, and not even her stupid semblance is going to ruin it.

Besides, it was just talking to people. How hard can it be?

 _Very_.

Shut up.


	2. A Taste of Mettle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Initiation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup! I skipped a lot of stuff. There really isn't much to add to Mettle!Yang at Ozpin's speech/meeting Blake/locker room/jumping pads (that's a lot of slashes. anyways) other than Mettle giving its own two cents. Blake and Yang meeting would go exactly the same since this Yang isn't much different from canon. Just lonelier and with a different semblance.  
> If y'all want, I can make a cut scenes fic if you're that interested in seeing how much of a butterfly effect that Mettle gives to Team RWBY.

As soon as she hit the ground, Yang starts running, her semblance already giving her suggestions and strategies she's really only half-listening to. Even then, what she's hearing is already a pretty good plan. 

_Ruby knows you and your fighting style, and you know Ruby's. She should make an adequate partner if you can find her. If not, stay in the shadows. Leaving whoever becomes your partner to fate will be a mistake. Observe first, then choose._

Mettle can be a pain in her ass at times, but it's like having a computer in your head. She probably would be able to make up her own plan, but Mettle _is_ usually right. It doesn't make her a super genius, more like using the most of her own intelligence.

It's useful enough that way, whispering stratagems and plans into her ear while occasionally being annoying. The other way she could use her semblance she would rather ignore. Or use as a last resort.

_Focus._

* * *

Blake had come across many students, not that they knew it of course, looking for a partner. Some she saw already with a partner, others she saw looking for someone (and she already recognized the one with the hammer was the one who wouldn't stop talking) and some that would draw too much attention to her (Pyrrha looked nice, but someone might look into Blake if she was Pyyrha's partner and that was something she cannot allow-). But she hadn't come across someone like Yang.

Watching her from the trees, she noted that she looked... Determined. Focused. Not unusual given what they were doing, but still something to see.

It was when she came across two Ursai that things got interesting. She dodges an ambush from one that was hiding in the green, jumping over another Grimm that tried to attack her from behind. She didn't waste any time with jokes or taunts like she expected her to, she just charged into the fray, not wasting any time and showing no mercy. Soon enough, the Grimm were dissolving at her feet. Then, she did something unexpected.

"You can come out now." Yang says, turning to look up at Blake. "Although, I could have used the help." She jokes with a cheeky grin.

Surprised, Blake drops down. "How did you see me?" She asks, impressed.

Yang only winks and taps her forehead. "Let's just say I have a voice in my head that tells me what to do." She answers, in a way that didn't answer anything.

"Right..." Blake says, rolling her eyes. "Come on. I saw the temple up in the trees, let's go." She says, gesturing for Yang to follow.

"That solves one problem..." Yang muttered, Blake having only heard it through her faunus-enhanced senses.

Blake found Yang to be... Interesting. She made the right choice after all.

* * *

Eventually, Yang and Blake found the temple. Well, the _broken_ temple with the only thing standing are the columns that carried what should be the relics.

"Think this is it?" Yang asks, walking closer and into the temple.

"Chess pieces?" Blake asks to herself, looking at the relics.

"Some of them are missing. Looks like we weren't the first ones here." Yang says, walking over and grabbing two golden knights, tossing one over to Blake. "That wasn't too hard." 

Blake smiles. "Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find." She says.

Suddenly, a scream pierces through the quiet. Some girl's in trouble-

_Ignore her. You already have the relics, just go back to Beacon._

Ignoring Mettle, Yang looks to her partner. "Blake, did you hear that? What should we do?" Yang asks, before noticing that Blake was looking up.

_What is she-_

"Heads upppppp!" A familiar voice shouted, faint at first but louder as Ruby quickly started approaching the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe me, I want to hurry up to the part where Yang fully uses Mettle too, but you can't rush things. Next chapter, I swear.


	3. Mettle Deployed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skipped some scenes here too. Just imagine that everything happened the same as Canon except for Yang snapping and shouting. Mettle won't let her do that.

All things considered, Jaune supposes his day could have gone better. 

There _were_ some upsides the day has had. He met Pyrrha. He unlocked his aura. His forged transcripts haven't been uncovered and he wasn't being hauled out of Beacon and into a prison cell.

However, the downsides were multiple near-death experiences, getting thrown into Ruby, and soon after both of them hitting a tree. 

He thought he could turn his luck around, by saving Weiss, swooning her with his bravery and maybe even scoring a date, but gravity had other plans.

Which led to now, him under Weiss and in front of the other students. Oh joy, now he can make a fool of himself in front of everyone.

Groggily, he looks up to the teens in front of him. Okay, so there was Ruby, a guy in green with pistol-knives, (is everyone's weapons also a gun here? Did he miss a memo?) a girl wearing pink, another girl in black, and Yang, Ruby's sister. She was looking right at him, a small smile on her face. At least someone was enjoying the show.

He heard a faint _thwack_ in the distance, and soon after Pyrrha landed in front of him.

Great. The gang's all here! Now they can die together.

* * *

Ruby liked to think she was optimistic. Yang said she was or, when she was using her semblance, naive. Even so, she always liked to see the bright side of things.

Even then, surrounded by a Deathstalker and a Nevermore, and who knows how many Grimm are hiding in the forest, she found it hard to stay optimistic. It didn't help that her partner was _so_ mean!

"Incoming!" Yang says, pointing at the Deathstalker, which was now coming towards them.

"I got it!" Ruby says, unfurling Crescent Rose and charging the Grimm with a war cry.

"Ruby, wait!" Yang says, running after her.

The Deathstalker knocks Ruby back, with the girl quickly getting up and firing a shot at the monster, the bullet bouncing off it's natural armor.

Bad idea, bad idea! Ruby hysterically thinks to herself as she turns and retreats, with Yang already halfway to her.

"What were you thinking?!" She shouts, grabbing her. She then looks up. "Shit-"

Making a split-second decision, Yang throws Ruby back at the group, right before jumping back as the Nevermore threw it's feathers between them. Ruby gasped and reached out for Yang as she was thrown.

Before the oversized black feathers blocked most of her view of her sister, she managed to get a glimpse of Yang's eyes slowly losing their color- 

And the Deathstalker's stinger lunging for her back.

* * *

"Yang!" 

Weiss and Blake start running to the Deathstalker, the former being far faster thanks to her glyphs, with the latter following close behind.

Already, Weiss was preparing ice dust to freeze the Grimm in place, but when she finally got a clear view, she stopped.

Yang was handling herself quite well. She must have dodged the Grimm's stinger, and she continued dodging it's attacks. Weiss had to admit it: she was impressed.

The heiress was a small bit unnerved however. Yang's face was... unusually blank. Not slack-faced, just neutral. Unexpected for the blonde idiot she thought she was. And there was something with her eyes that Weiss just can't put a finger on.

Soon enough, Yang slides under the Deathstalker, firing her gauntlet to use the momentum from the recoil to get out of range from the Grimm, rolling and coming to a crouch at Weiss's side, giving her the opportunity to freeze it in its tracks.

"That won't hold it for long." Yang says suddenly, still in a crouch with her hair covering her face. "All we've done is slow it down." She continues, her voice betraying no signs of emotions.

"And that thing's circling back." Jaune says, pointing at the Nevermore. "What are we gonna do?"

Before Weiss could answer, Yang stands up. "You get your relics and get to the cliffs." The blonde says, again in that strange, robotic tone. "Fighting both the Nevermore and the Deathstalker is a needless risk. Best we avoid them." She marches away, towards the cliffs.

Ruby looked forlornly at Yang, before sighing. "Yang's right. There's no point in fighting these things." She goes to get a relic before following. Most of the group follows suit as well.

Blake however, hesitates briefly before quickly catching up to Yang. "What's up with you? You were acting weird back there. You okay?" She asks, concerned for her partner.

Yang stopped, before looking up at her partner. Blake's eyes widened slightly surprised at something.

"I'm under control Blake." The now grey-eyed blonde says, monotone. "Now come on. We're wasting time." Yang says, before walking away.

* * *

Back at the launching pads, a certain headmaster narrows his eyes, watching a camera's feed through his scroll. 

"Glynda." Ozpin pauses to take a sip from his mug. "Miss Xiao-Long's semblance. It allows her to hyper-focus, doesn't it?" He asks.

Glynda pursed her lips, consulting her Scroll. "Yes." She confirms. "But not without a cost."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" He asks, curious.

"Miss Xiao-Long herself described it as 'removing her own emotions.' freeing her of doubt, fear..." She trailed off. "Compassion. In my opinion, it seems more of a curse than a gift." Glynda finishes, pushing up her glasses.

"Hm."

"Why the intrigue? We've both taught students with stranger and more terrible semblances than Mettle. It's a concerning semblance, I admit, but nothing we can't handle."

"Mere curiosity Glynda." Ozpin says criptically. "Mere curiosity."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I the only one who wants Casey to make a Hero cover? At the very least a female cover so that I could get into the mood of Mettle!Yang while writing.
> 
> I'll update again as soon as I can. Criticism and/or praise is welcome. Merry X-mas


	4. Emotions and Strategy Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to save my work and half the writing went poof. I went fuck it, so just cut it in half. Gonna take a while for me to post part 2 since I stayed up all night writing this chapter only to have half of it deleted.

Weiss was frustrated, and understandably so. Between having an annoying dolt as a partner, falling from a Nevermore and Yang acting strange, she felt entitled to a little frustration.

She was trudging through the forest alongside Ruby and Blake, the latter having tried to get through to Yang but eventually stopped trying after she hadn't responded. The other group consisting of Pyrrha, Arc and two strangers were following close behind.

"What's wrong with her?" Weiss asks Ruby, who had been silent the entire time. "She's been acting like a completely different person." And while she wouldn't be complaining, since a _different_ Yang would mean no irritating puns or general loudness, but this Yang trades all of that for... She didn't even know how to describe it! It's like she didn't care about anything at all!

"It's... Not her? Well it is her, but kinda not?" Ruby, her dolt of a partner babbled. "It's her semblance."

"Her semblance?" Blake asks, curious. Weiss was as well. What kind of semblance compels people to act like that? What was the use?

"It... Lets her hyper-focus." Ruby explains. "Whenever she activates it, it hardens her resolve and lets her focus on something really, really hard."

"That doesn't sound that useful, to be honest." Blake says, still confused.

"It also doesn't explain why she's acting like that!" Weiss cuts in, gesturing to the blonde girl in front of the group, seemingly ignoring the conversation about her.

"... It also removes her emotions." Ruby continues. "Fear, anger, doubt, happiness... It's all gone so that she could always make the right decisions." The red-haired girl finishes with a sigh.

Weiss pauses, surprised by the information. "That's..." Horrible? Useful? On one hand, a semblance that removes emotions was unnerving and horrible in some cases, but on the other hand, it would be quite useful for strategy if used correctly. There may be more than what it seems with Yang Xiao-Long.

"It's something, isn't it?" Ruby says, rubbing her head. "Yang's still in there, just... Not in control right now. Well, kinda? It's not like her semblance controls her, just-"

Blake lays a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "I think I understand." She says, trying to calm Ruby. "When will she go back to normal?" She asks, staring at Yang, still marching through the woods.

"Until her aura breaks, or her objective is complete, which is probably passing Initiation." Ruby answers, sighing.

"You make her sound like a machine..."

"She kinda is when she's like that, isn't she?"

"Quiet." Yang suddenly says, holding a hand out and stopping. "Listen."

Keeping silent, the group hears scuttling from behind them, and distant roars that can only belong to a Grimm. The Deathstalker has broken free.

* * *

There was a saying, about no plans surviving contact against the enemy. 

They've had to abandon the plan to sneak by the Grimm, as the Deathstalker was already heading towards their direction and sneaking by both it and the Nevermore was impossible, so they had decided to run for it, Nora covering them by using Magnihild's grenade launcher form. They run to a set of abandoned structures with stone bridges connecting to the main land.

Ruby, Weiss and Yang had managed to get up a crumbling tower, with Blake joining them later, but not before attacking the Nevermore with little effect.

"It's tougher than it looks!" Blake reports, landing next to Yang.

"Then we wear it down." The blonde says dispassionately, reloading her gauntlets as the Grimm circles back towards them.

The girls bombard the monster with ranged attacks, but ultimately are unable to bring it down as it passes through the tower, knocking out the supports holding the four girls up.

Thanks to their training, the group were able to safely land on another bridge by climbing up the rubble as it falls, Blake and Yang landing together and Ruby and Weiss landing apart from each other.

"None of this is working." Blake observes, turning to Yang. "Any ideas?"

Yang hummed, looking at Blake and her weapon, then at Ruby and her sniper-scythe.

"Yes." She answered, monotone. "A risky one, but no strategy is without risk."

And thus she told Blake her plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will be making another fic, and once I put up the first chapter of that I'm gonna take a break for at least a day, before writing part 2 of this au.


	5. Emotions and Strategy Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Passing Initiation and Team Formation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second fic is in development hell. Decided to just finish Part 2 first then finish the new fics first chapter.
> 
> Also, Yang still visited Juniors club. What happened there will be revealed soon enough.

Mettle allowed Yang to hyper-focus on a goal. Of course, the semblance's idea of hyper-focusing was removing all emotions except _maybe_ grim satisfaction, (was that even an emotion?) but there was no doubt it was useful. Being able to make split-second decisions under pressure was a great skill any professional huntsman and huntress would have, and a first year already having that skill is a great advantage over their peers. Being basically invisible to Grimm is a plus too, as having no emotions means no negativity for the Grimm to prey on.

So when Weiss heard that Yang's plan to kill the Nevermore was holding it still and throwing Ruby at it, she was understandably doubtful the blonde was still under it's influence. 

"That's incredibly reckless!" Weiss says to Yang, whose face was still impossible to discern any emotion she may be hiding. "Has your semblance driven you insane?! You-"

"Do you have a better idea?" Yang interrupts, not annoyed, but a genuine question. At Weiss's silence, she continued. "I've thought so. Perhaps we can find a better strategy, but that's time we do not have. The only reason we have had time to needlessly argue about this is because Ruby and Blake have been distracting the Nevermore." Grey eyes bore into blue, the latter a piercing glare and the former a dispassionate stare. "We do need your help." Yang admits. "Eliminating the Nevermore would be much harder without keeping it grounded. Now you can continue arguing, or we could work together as a team."

Weiss looked about ready to continue arguing, then sighs, admitting defeat. "How is it even without your inane blathering, you're still incredibly annoying?"

Yang turns, finished with the conversation. "I don't aim to be annoying." She answers. "I aim to be efficient."

"It was rethorical..."

* * *

Blake had been skeptical of Yang's plan, and was expecting Ruby to be as well. So she was surprised when Ruby just nodded and said she'll play her part.

"I trust Yang. Kinda." Ruby says when the Nevermore didn't immediately attack, giving them time to breathe. "I trust her semblance. It's a bit creepy and makes Yang mean, but it always make the right decisions." Blake had the feeling she would have said more, but the Grimm had circled back. Blake leaps away, leaving Ruby to do her part of the plan.

And Ruby does. She shoots at the Grimm using Crescent Rose, drawing it to her until it gets close enough for her to use her scythe on, stabbing and holding on to steer the Nevermore into the cliff.

Ruby lets go before it actually hit the cliff, using her semblance to get down safely. As she landed, the Nevermore rose up, preparing to take flight- before it's tail feathers get frozen to the ground by Weiss, grounding it.

Meanwhile, Yang and Blake make an impromptu slingshot using Gambol Shroud's whip and two nearby pillars. Ruby then jumps into the slingshot, using her scythe as a foothold as Weiss uses her Glyphs to draw Ruby back.

"I can't believe this was your sister's grand strategy." Weiss comments, aiming Ruby to the Grimm's neck.

"Did you have any better ideas?" Ruby asks, smirking.

"Hmph." Instead of answering, Weiss releases her Glyphs, launching Ruby at the beast's neck. Using the momentum, and speeding up her acceleration by firing Crescent Rose behind her to use the recoil to her advantage, she slams her blade into it's neck, sending them both to the cliff.

Yang however, squints. The first expression's she made that wasn't a disinterested stare. The momentum of launching what is basically a high-speed blade should have decapitated it. "Weiss-"

"Already on it." Weiss interrupts, raising her sword and creating glyphs along the cliff wall. "You're not the only person here that can make a plan."

Using her semblance and the Glyphs, Ruby runs up the cliff, using the momentum of the speed and the blade under the Nevermore's head to decapitate the oversized bird at the top of the cliff.

For a moment, as the headless Grimm's body fell from the cliff and into the abyss, it seemed that everything paused as the girls caught their breath.

"Well..." Blake and Weiss turn behind them, looking at Yang. "That was a thing, huh?" Says the now lilac-eyed blonde.

* * *

"Jaune Arc. Nora Valkyrie. Pyrrha Nikos. Lie Ren." Ozpin announces to the auditorium, full of students. Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren stood before Ozpin himself. "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR. Led by... Jaune Arc." Ozpin smiled. "Congratulations, young man."

_Arc has shown some promise to be a leader, although his ability in combat is on the level of Junior's goons. It was best you weren't partnered with him, nevermind on the same team._

Yang, once again, only half-listened to Mettle. She wished the semblance itself had an off button, but the only way she could shut it up was by breaking her aura, and she wasn't desperate enough to start banging her head on a wall just yet.

Besides, her teammates would stop her. Speaking of teammates...

"Yang Xiao-Long. Blake Belladonna. Weiss Schnee. Ruby Rose." The four of them step up to the stage.

_It's satisfactory to have those three as your teammates. Ruby is a prodigy. Blake's skilled and Weiss has problems, but her semblance is quite versatile._

Yang rolled her eyes at her semblance's analysis. Leave it to Mettle to state the obvious sometimes. It wasn't always analysing everything she sees, but it was still an annoying aspect of her semblance to deal with.

"The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team LBSR"

Lobster? The fish? Crustacean? Whatever. Pretty weird name, but there wasn't many other choices. 

_Wait. The only one out of the four of you with the L. Initial is you. Which means-_

"Led by Yang Xiao-Long." Ozpin finishes.

"What?!" Weiss shrieks, shocked.

"Ahhh! Good job sis!" Ruby grins, dashing to her surprised sister and hugging her.

"You _did_ lead us back at Initiation." Blake says, a small smile on her face.

 _Mostly thanks to Mettle. Ozpin no doubt knows your semblance, and must see you as a potential leader._ Mettle supplies, ever observant.

Yang stood stock-still for a few moments, still absorbing all this information. "... Huh."

_Well. This is shaping up to be an interesting year._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An explanation: Ruby isn't the leader in this AU because she never really had a chance to shine during Initiation. Yang/Mettle made the plan before Ruby had a chance to do so. There's also the fact that Ruby's used to Mettle being right, and so trusts her sister and her semblance to make the plans. Of course I'm not sacrificing Ruby's character development for Yang's, but Ruby would have her own time to shine soon enough.
> 
> Also yeah, we're in heavy AU territory now. No more just adding scenes to canon. An actual storyline will be at play.


	6. Team LBSR Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just nipping this in the bud: While Bumblebee is tagged as a ship, it's not gonna be the main focus of the story. I do ship the bees, but romance isn't the focus of this fic.
> 
> I might make them kiss though. Maybe. Definitely going to be angst-

_Wake up._

Yang opens her eyes, the voice of Mettle jolting her awake like a splash of ice water at her face. She rubs her eyes, checking the time on her scroll.

"Seriously? 6 AM?" Yang groaned. Once again, her semblance woke her up at an unbearable hour.

_You have no idea when classes start. Waking up this early should give you at least two hours to bathe, eat and prepare for classes. You should have read the official schedule the academy had given you, instead of relying on your semblance._

Yang got up as Mettle lectured her. There was no use going back to sleep as her semblance would just wake her up again. She wonders why Mettle only refers to itself in the second person, and not just call itself 'Mettle', or 'Me'. Eh, just something to think about later.

_Focus._

"Oh what, I can't think in my own head?" Yang says aloud, annoyed.

_You can think in the shower. You're wasting time._

"You woke me up at six in the morning! I think we have all the time in-"

"Yang?" A voice not from Yang or her head cuts in. Yang slowly turns, seeing Blake sitting up in her bed, staring at her.

"Are you... arguing with yourself?" Blake asks, concerned, confused and cringing somehow at the same time.

"Maybe." Yang half-admits. She quickly tries to change the subject. "What are you doing up this early?"

"I'm usually up this early. Are we ignoring-"

"Yup." Yang says, popping the 'P'. She walks over to Ruby's bed, kicking the headboard and jolting her awake.

"Huh!? Wazzaht?" Ruby jumps up waving her arms and half-blinded by an eye mask.

"Wake up your partner Rubes. Leader's orders!" Yang says, quickly grabbing a towel and her uniform from her bag, and running for the bathroom connected to their dorm. "Taking a shower. See ya!"

"Yang!" "Yaaang..." Blake and Ruby shout, but their great leader has already shut the door.

* * *

Blake sighed as Yang left, looking over to Ruby who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Is it early? It feels like it's early..." The youngest of the team murmured, removing her eye mask and getting out of bed.

"Is your sister usually like that?" Blake asks, frowning.

"Sometimes. She's always hogging the hot water from the shower and she takes so long-"

"No, not that." Blake interrupts, still concerned for Yang. "Does she usually... Talk to herself? She was just joking, right?"

Ruby stills, her mouth setting into a line. "That's... private." She hesitates, before continuing. "Yang's kinda sensitive about that. You should ask her yourself."

Before Blake could ask more, Ruby gets out of bed, moving over to Weiss to wake her. The conversation clearly over, Blake sighs and gets out of bed as well. Might as well unpack...

* * *

Unbeknownst to Blake and Ruby, Weiss was already awake. She was startled by the slamming of the door, and managed to overhear their conversation.

Weiss had no idea what to think. Xiao-Long didn't seem to have any _mental_ issues, but then again, her sister all but confirmed it. 

_Maybe Yang was just stressed? Perhaps she was just trying to calm herself down..._ Either way, this new information was disturbing to Weiss. What kind of leadership should she expect from Yang?- 

_Fweeee!_

"Gah!" Weiss, startled, jumped out of bed. She looks up to see Ruby, still in her pyjamas and grinning, holdings a whistle.

"What is wrong with you?!" Weiss exclaims from the floor, frustrated with her absolute dolt of a partner.

"Sorry Weiss! Just trying to wake you up!"

"I was already awake you dolt!"

Giggling sheepishly, Ruby says a quick "Sorry!" before going back to her bed, unpacking her luggage. Weiss huffed before getting up from bed. Her childish partner was yet another thing gone wrong in Beacon.

First she had a fifteen-year old as a partner instead of someone like Pyrrha Nikos, _then_ she was passed over as a leader by an irritating blonde ( _twice_ she may add. At least she wasn't going to be bossed around by Jaune Arc.) who was also Ruby's sister! The only thing worse would be if their final teammate was secretly White Fang!

Blake sneezed suddenly. Great, their dorm was dusty as well.

* * *

Yang, washed and fully dressed, opens the bathroom door to be greeted by Weiss screaming at Ruby, with Blake standing near the door.

"Good luck dear leader." Blake says, looking at the two partners as she enters the bathroom.

Yang sighed. Right, she's the leader now, which means that whatever's riling Weiss up was her responsibility as well.

_You were in the shower for ten minutes. How have those two gotten into another argument already?_

"Alright you two, what's wrong?" Yang asks, going for the 'big-sister' look. It helped that both Weiss and Ruby were shorter than her. Ruby looked to the ground sheepishly, while Weiss glared up at her.

"Weiss started it!"

"Oh don't be so childish." Weiss snaps at Ruby.

"I just asked why you looked so angry! You don't have to be so mean!"

"And you were invading my personal space!-"

"Okay, that's enough." Yang says, butting in. "Weiss, stay away from Ruby. Ruby, stay away from Weiss." She commands. Weiss stalks off to her side of the room while Ruby walked in the other direction. Yang sighs.

_That won't work forever. They're partners. You can't separate them indefinitely._

Yang ignores the voice in her head, deciding to check on the schedule Beacon gave her. Mettle did have a point on her having to have checked the schedule sooner. But in her defense, it was already late and she wanted to sleep.

"So classes start at nine. That would have been good to know..." Yang murmured, scanning over the sheet.

It was 6:30 now. They had plenty of time. Yang decides to unpack her belongings, now that there wasn't anything left to do except wait for the rest of her team to get ready.

The room's looking pretty bare though. Would be nice to decorate- 

"We should make bunk beds!" 

"Ruby _no_ -"

Aaand they were fighting again. Yang sighs, walking back to the arguing partners. She hopes that Ruby and Weiss get along soon. Team LBSR does have four more years left together after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the sudden ending. Cutting this in half not because of an accident but because I still need to think about what happens next and it's already been a week since I updated. Writer's block sucks.
> 
> Also I really need to finish that second fic it's been a week since I touched it.


	7. Team LBSR Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayo forgot to say this but holy shit, over a 1000 hits? Nice. Thank you everyone who actually likes this mess of an au and hopefully I won't disappoint anyone.

They've decided to make the bunk beds.

Well, not exactly. Yang had put it to a vote and Weiss was outvoted 3-1, but it was still decided.

The only saving grace for Weiss was that they weren't going to make it _now_ , as Yang explained that making them now would take too much time and they'll be late for classes. _How_ she knew was beyond Weiss, but the rest of the team followed Yang's lead, with Yang reassuring Ruby they'll make them later.

Watching Arc and his teammates (and it still irked her they let that buffoon be the leader) stumble in class and get reprimanded for being late however made Weiss almost grateful for Yang's call. Almost.

* * *

"Monsters! Demons! Creatures of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I simply refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!"

 _This is our Grimm studies teacher? Ridiculous. For someone as stoic as Ozpin, you'd expect a more professional individual._ Mettle gave its own opinion, which was always expected of it. Yang was trapped between tuning out Professor Port and tuning out Mettle, both of which drone on and on. It's a lose-lose situation.

She focused long enough on the lesson to notice their professor wink at her. Yang groaned as Port continued to drone on, her semblance apparently having decided to not tell her to focus on the lesson, which was nice.

To be fair to their professor, it just looked like Port was just bad at teaching. The cage that rattled and let out a few roars probably had a grimm inside. The fact that their teacher had captured one alive was impressive. The fact that Port was able to bore her out of her mind in seconds less so.

She looked over at her other teammates. Blake looked like she was reading her textbook, but Yang could _just_ make out another, smaller book behind it. She had no idea what it was about though. Eh, probably just a novel of some kind.

Weiss seemed determined to focus on the lecture, despite there being nothing to actually learn from the Professor's story. Even Mettle agreed that there wasn't anything that Yang should actively listen to.

And Ruby was doodling on a piece of paper. Before Yang could get a better look her little sister held it up to her teammates. It was a drawing of Port, with the words 'Professor Poop' on the bottom, with Ruby blowing a raspberry. Yang and Blake chuckled while Weiss glared. Her sister can be childish sometimes.

"Ahem!" The girl's looked back at Port. "The moral of this story?" _There was a point?_ "A true huntsman must be honorable! A true huntsman must be dependable!" _Of course people will depend on you when you're a huntress, it's your job after all. Meaningless drabble from our so called 'teacher'._ Mettle sure is talkative today... "A true huntsman must be strategic, well educated and wise!" Yang rolled her eyes, bored out of her mind.

"Now who here believes to be the embodiment of these traits?!"

Yang does, but she doesn't really feel the need to raise her hand up. Mostly confidence, but a good bit of her just didn't want to call attention to herself. The whole thing sounds like an opening for a surprise test. The cage in the room probably being the 'surprise'.

"I do sir!" And there was Weiss. _Probably wants to show off._

Yang had the feeling Mettle was right.

* * *

_What was that display? Weiss didn't even use her semblance until the very end, and struggled because of it. She's made a fool of herself._

Yang sighs as Mettle draws its own conclusions. Correct conclusions yes, but annoying all the same. Weiss kept on trying to fence with the Grimm, and then scolded Ruby when she was trying to give advice. ( _Good advice as well. No armor on the Boarbatusk's underbelly.)_ Which Yang definitely found unfair. 

After Weiss stormed off after class, Ruby had come after her. Yang decided to follow them both and mediate. That what leader's do, right? Keep the team from tearing each other apart?

Ugh, maybe her semblance was right about Ozpin making her leader because of it. She had no experience being an actual leader. None without using her semblance anyway. 

"-what's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong!" A voice that definitely sounded like Weiss whined. Looking around the corner, she saw Weiss and Ruby, in the middle of another argument. "You! You and your sister!"

"What do you mean? Where's this coming from? What happened to working together back at Initiation?" Ruby says back. Yang decided to stay back a bit. Weiss probably needed to vent at someone and who knows? Maybe she'll feel better after letting everything out. If things start getting physical, then Yang will step in. 

_That's a terrible plan. You just want to hear about what Weiss thinks about you._ Shush Mettle, not now.

"You're such a nuisance! Always acting like a childish brat and your sister only enables you! Yang shouldn't have been the leader! You shouldn't even have been here for another two years!"

"And who should have been leader then, you?" Ruby retorts, and Yang can hear the anger in her little sister's voice.

"Maybe! Quite frankly, I deserve better than a team led by your sister, and I deserve a _far_ better partner than _you_. Ozpin made a mistake." Oh really? Oh, Weiss is in for it now- 

A hand on her shoulder stopped her from stomping around the corner and pummeling her absolute _bitch_ of a teammate. Yang turned around to see- 

"Professor-" Before Yang could finish, Ozpin put a finger to his mouth, then leaned in.

"I understand that you're upset, but violence would only exacerbate the situation." Ozpin says, whispering to keep the two of them hidden. "I'll talk to Weiss, and you could comfort your sister."

"But-"

"I've had many students like Miss Schnee, and believe me when I say that she's not the first student to believe they 'deserve' something. I know how to deal with children like her."

"You gonna expel her or something?" Yang asks nervously. Now that she's thinking clearly, she doesn't want Weiss to get expelled on her first day in Beacon.

Ozpin only chuckled. "Nothing so drastic. Only a talk, I assure you."

Yang lets out a breath she had no idea she was holding. "Sorry that you had to step in sir." 

Ozpin smiled. "Well, I couldn't expect _all_ the teams to settle in smoothly this early in the year. It's nothing you should be sorry about." He starts walking away. "You can't control people after all, only lead them.

Yang watches Ozpin walk away. _That was... cryptic._

Once again, Mettle was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a three-parter, lol. Also I figured out a kinda schedule for HaM and TGWTS. Hearts will be updated first, then Two Souls. The actual dates are still random, but expect an update for Yang-pin soon.


	8. Team LBSR Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm, been a while huh? Sorry for the wait! Was just busy with irl stuff and had writer's block with this chapter. I'm a-okay now though!
> 
> Unto the chapter!

Weiss walked down the halls, fuming internally. Everything was so unfair! Yang, Blake, Ruby, all of it!

She _deserved_ to be the leader! She's trained so hard, worked too hard just to have the opportunity to lead _snatched_ by some dumb blonde! She _deserved_ a competent partner, not some toddler in a cape!

She- she needs someone to vent to. Perhaps Professor Port? Or- "Miss Schnee?"

Weiss stops in her tracks. Looking behind her, Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon and therefore her _superior_ , stands behind her with a friendly and disarming smile.

"I'd like to talk to you in my office, please."

* * *

Ruby was sulking on her bed, Blake and Yang were out who knows where, and Weiss was being... Weiss.

Ruby groaned into her pillow. Why was she so mean?! Everytime she tried to actually talk with her partner, it just turned into an argument! She tried proving herself to Weiss by trying to fight that Deathstalker head on, but Yang had to save her when that failed. Even landing the killing blow on the Nevermore didn't change the way Weiss thought about her!

...Maybe Weiss was right. That she wasn't cut out to be a huntress after all. Did Ozpin make a mistake?

She was snapped out of her musings by the door opening, and her sister, Yang, came into the dorm.

"Hey sis. Wanna talk?"

* * *

Ozpin noted that Miss Schnee looked uncomfortable as she followed him to his office. Understandable, really. They had entered the elevator when she finally decided to speak.

"Sir, I- if you think I've done anything wrong I assure you I-"

"You're not in any trouble Miss Schnee." Ozpin assures her. "Really, I only want to talk."

"... Alright then." Weiss still looked nervous, albeit less so.

The elevator finally arrives to Ozpin's office. Ozpin gestures to Weiss to take a seat as he goes to his own chair.

"Now, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Miss Rose earlier..."

Weiss somehow got paler. "Y-You heard that?! I didn't mean any disrespect! I'm sor-"

Ozpin's chuckle cut her off. "There's no need to apologise, Miss Schnee. I'm not so narcissistic that I would punish you over something so unimportant. As I said, you're not in trouble."

Weiss calmed down. "Then... why call me here?" She asks.

"Again, just to talk. You feel I've made a mistake? Why?"

Weiss hesitates. "Is this some kind of test?"

Ozpin smiles reassuringly. "No. I'm not fishing for compliments or looking for an excuse for punishment. I really am curious on why you're so upset with the team I placed you on." He leans back on his chair. "If nothing else, use this as an excuse to vent out your frustrations, before you do or say something you'll regret. I won't hold anything you say to me against you."

* * *

"Hey Yang..." Ruby said, not getting up from her bed. 

Yang sighed. Thanks Schnee, you've made Ruby upset. The usual punishment was a pounding, but she doubted that the professor's would let that slide.

_There's no use in making that joke inside your head._

Jeez, tough crowd. She comes closer to Ruby's bed. "You okay?"

_It's obvious that she's not._

"No..." Ruby mutters, turning over to face away from Yang.

"... I overheard your little fight with your partner." Yang says.

This Ruby perks up too. She straightens up and looks at Yang. "Y-You overheard!?" Ooohhh, now Yang would get angry at Weiss and now she'll argue with her too and- 

"Hey, chill. I'm not pissed at Weiss." Well, that was a bit of a lie. Ozpin said he'll handle it though... Bbbut Ruby would probably take that the wrong way, so she won't mention that. "I'm worried about _you_. You're upset, and I know it. Just talk to me."

Ruby bit her lip.

* * *

Weiss was understandably surprised by the offer. Ozpin had every right to be offended, but he really seemed honest about what he was saying.

Weiss finally made a decision. "Yang shouldn't have been leader. Her semblance is the only thing that gives her some expertise in strategy, but even then there are far better people suited to the role!" Once she saw there would be no reprimand from Ozpin, she continued. "Ruby shouldn't even be here! Yes she has _some_ skill, but she's too young and immature to be a huntress!" She exclaims, finishing with a huff at the end of it.

Ozpin, for his part, said nothing as Weiss ranted, and after a moment steeples his fingers together, no doubt preparing to give her his wisdom. With a straight face, he said: "With all due respect Miss Schnee, you're being quite the brat."

Wait, what?!

* * *

"-and she's _so_ bossy and mean and-"

_She's been going on like this for five minutes._

Yang frowned. Yeesh, it's only been a day and Ruby's already had her breakdown. The smaller girl was hugging her tightly and was ranting for a while, sometimes repeating the same thing.

It was... concerning, to say the least.

"-and I don't know what to do! It's like she's dead set on hating me!" Her sister finally finished, panting for breath after her tirade. 

Yang looked down on her sister. This might be more delicate than she thought...

* * *

"Excuse me!?" The words went out of her mouth before she could bite her tongue. Her hands flew to her mouth, horrified.

Ozpin only chuckled. "Again Miss Schnee, I already said you have nothing to fear from me. _I'm_ the one who gave you the chance to rant at me."

Weiss slowly lowered her hands, opening her mouth to say _something_ , but Ozpin continued.

"But then again, I never said _I_ myself couldn't talk back. So you must believe me when I say I think you're just complaining that you aren't getting what you want."

Weiss resisted the urge to stomp her foot. Although the headmaster said she was free to talk to him as an equal (she _may_ be paraphrasing a bit...) she wasn't about to show any more disrespect towards him. That didn't mean she wasn't going to defend herself though. "But it's true! Ruby and Yang haven't done _anything_ to deserve their positions-"

"Miss Rose proved herself to me after she stopped a robbery and fought against a rogue huntsman, and wasn't it Miss Xiao-Long who created the strategy to help you pass Initiation?" Ozpin countered.

Weiss only scowled on her seat. Ozpin really was right on the nail when he said that she wanted to be leader. Not that she'll admit it.

Ozpin's expression became sympathetic. "Perhaps you're being too hard on them. It's only been your first day. Give your team a chance."

Weiss looked down. "It's just- I _know_ that I can lead the team."

" _Anyone_ can. Being a leader isn't something you'll get the hang of immediately. It's something that you _become_. Yang is inexperienced, I will admit that, but I see potential in her, potential that helped make my decision to make her team leader. I see potential in you that you will become a great huntress. It's the same potential I saw in Ruby, and everyone else who wants to come to this school." Ozpin explains. "All they need is a chance to prove themselves."

The headmaster... had a point. She had been frustrated by Yang becoming leader and Ruby acting like a child. Perhaps she'd been too harsh...

"I suggest you think on it, Miss Schnee. You're free to leave now." Weiss was snapped out of her thoughts by Ozpin's voice. "Or do you have anything else to add?"

"Ah- no sir!" Weiss stood up. "Thank you sir, you've given me a lot to think about."

Ozpin nodded back. "No problem Miss Schnee, good day."

Weiss walked out of Ozpin's office, feeling just a tad bit lighter than before.

* * *

"Maybe you should prove yourself to her?" Yang suggests.

 _She's already tried that._ "But I've already tried that!" Ruby unknowingly echoes Mettle.

"Not in combat dummy! You've already proved that by being in Beacon two years early." She flicked her sister's nose playfully. "I mean in normal, school stuff. Show her you can be mature, that you deserve to be here. Be the best you you can be!"

_That's... surprisingly solid advice._

Aw neat! Even Mettle thought it was some good advice!

"... I guess you're right. Thanks Yang!" Ruby says, cheered up. "You're the best!"

_Ruby's optimistic. She'd have taken any advice from you to better her relationship with Weiss. You could have told her to kiss her the next time she saw her and she'd act the same way._

Weiss and Ruby kissing? Ewwww. That's an image not going away anytime soon.

* * *

Blake was awake. She was always a light sleeper, with even the slightest of sounds waking her up. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she looked over to Ruby's bed. Yang had said they'll make the bunk beds tommorow, which was probably smart. It was already getting late anyways.

Anyways, over Yang's sleeping form (the girl always had a tight sleeping schedule) and Weiss's empty bed, Ruby and Weiss were talking. Without being at each other's throats. Huh, miracles can happen.

"-just you wait, I'll be the best teammate you'll ever see!" Weiss says, Blake overhearing.

With a smile, Blake goes back to sleep. Those two don't need her listening in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up: I'm not Anti-WhiteRose. Yang's little comment was meant as a joke. Or maybe it's foreshadowing. I have no idea man.
> 
> Yeah, not much Blake interaction's here. In the later chapters there will though, specifically next chapter. It's not the faunus reveal though- more like a break chapter.
> 
> Please give criticism and/or praise. I have no idea if I'm doing this writer thing right.


	9. Questions and Arguments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The latter half of this chapter felt a bit lacking to me. Maybe it's just me, but I hope I haven't disappointed any of you. Real life's just been a pain lately, and writer's block sucks. Hope you enjoy anyhow.

"I thought we were going to _build_ the bunk beds..." Groaned Ruby, trudging through the streets of Vale.

"Don't be ridiculous. Why _build_ them? We'll still have bunk beds Ruby, we're just doing it the proper way and buying them." Weiss says, primly walking beside Ruby.

"You know, you don't have to pay for _everything_. Kinda feels like we're taking advantage of you." Yang admits , following close behind the two with Blake at her side.

"Nonsense. Even if you, Ruby and Blake pooled together your resources, you won't get close to my own allowance."

"Was she trying to show off or trying to make you feel better?" Blake whispers to Yang, who could only shrug. "She does have a point though." Blake continues. "I doubt that buying two bunk beds would make a dent in the Schnee monopoly."

Ignoring the disdain Blake had in her voice (she _just_ managed to rein Ruby and Weiss in. Can't Team LBSR just be a normal team?) Yang sighs. "Just doesn't seem fair. It was _my_ idea in the first place to just buy bunk beds." But really, it was Mettle's idea. But technically Mettle was _her_ , so it was kinda still her idea? 

_Building the beds from scratch would be difficult as none of the team have any experience with carpentry, not to mention the possible hazards. We'll be better off just buying two bunks._

"...By the way, can I ask you about something?" Blake says, out of the blue. By now, both Weiss and Ruby were too far to overhear, but not so far that they're out of view entirely.

"Uhhh, go ahead?" Yang raises an eyebrow. "Why so shy all of the sudden?" While the team had only been together for a week, Yang found that Blake was always quiet, but it wasn't fueled by anxiety or anything like that. She was just an introvert.

"... Remember the day after the team was formed? When I caught you talking to yourself?"

Yang didn't stop walking, but she still froze. Damn, and she thought that Blake forgot about that little incident. "Uhhh..."

"You don't have to answer me." Blake shrugged. "And I won't push, but... are you okay? If you need someone to talk to, I'm here, you know?" Blake's expression didn't look accusing, just... concerned. 

_Just tell her about Mettle._

"It's just nerves, y'know? Talking to myself's just a... coping mechanism! Yeah!" Yang grinned, the smile not quite reaching her eyes.

"You don't seem like the type to have 'nerves'." Blake points out.

_You shouldn't be ashamed of a part of yourself. This deceit is unnecessary._

"Well, I'm a leader now!" Yang bluffs, ignoring the _very annoying_ voice in her head. "Course I'll be worried on how to lead a team. Don't worry, it was a one time thing. I won't do it again." She definitely won't. Her semblance ruined her social life back when she was a kid and at Signal, and she won't let it ruin her chance at Beacon either.

Blake still frowned though. "That's not what I meant-"

"Guuuys!" Ruby's voice called out, cutting Blake off. Turning to the red-hooded girl, she waved at them, both her and Weiss much farther than they thought. "C'mon! Weiss says we're close!"

Yang waved back, and went towards her sister, trying to convince herself that she wasn't running from the conversation.

_You are._

* * *

Everything had been going so well. When did it go wrong?

Well, Ruby _knows_ when it all went wrong, so maybe _why_ was a better question? But she kinda already knew the answer to that too...

And now Weiss and Blake were fighting in the middle of the street, Yang and her were trying to mediate, and everything was a mess.

Weiss, Blake and Yang had looked over the bunk beds back at the furniture shop, (Ruby just stuck around. She had no clue about buying house stuff. Unless it was comic books.) argued a bit (Weiss was looking for the bunk beds to be "aesthetically pleasing", whatever that meant. Yang wanted them to be sturdy but not too pricey. Blake and Ruby just stayed out of it.) and then Weiss had to sign a contract, and then they finally left after hours! ("We were in their for barely thirty minutes you dolt")

The guy at the store said that they'll have the bunks delivered and set up in their dorms (yay!) But it would take a couple of days. (boo!) 

Ruby had a thing to this. What was the thing? Oh right! Going down memory lane to find out how it came to her and Yang to stop Weiss and Blake from coming to blows.

Yang had decided to have the team explore Vale a bit as a "team-outing". Majority ruled. Weiss was outvoted.

And it was nice for a bit! Weiss even cheered up when they went to the Vytal Festival, even smiling! (it creeped Ruby out though. Could you blame her? Imagine Goodwitch smiling!)

But then...

"Alright, cut it out you two!"

"Not until she admits she's biased!"

"Biased?! How dare you-"

"Oh, don't try and deny it, Schnee-"

Team LBSR had come across a destroyed dust shop and a couple of detectives, and then it all came tumbling down. Weiss called the White Fang brutes, Blake said they were misguided. Weiss said they were terrorists, Blake said they were freedom fighters. She thought they could have avoided the issue chasing that monkey guy and meeting Penny, (she was weird. But nice! But weird.) but they just started arguing again!

"Ah, screw it." Yang says, throwing her hands up and walking over to Ruby. "They'll get tired screaming at each other, and we'll just work it out when they're calmer."

Ruby could only hope Yang was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I have two choices:  
> Make a rwby time travel fic (either with Vol.2 RWBY going to the future or Vol.7 RWBY going to the past  
> Or  
> A role-swap fic with Penny and Ironwood
> 
> Put in suggestions in the comments! Also criticism, cause I have no idea what I'm doing.


	10. Into the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter probably sucked in my opinion. Going to make up for it now. Hopefully. Maybe

Yang was wrong.

"I don't understand why you're so offended by this!"

"That's _exactly_ the problem!"

So wrong.

_They've been at each other's throats for most of the day._

Yang had long since stopped trying to calm either her partner or her teammate down, both ignoring her to continue arguing with each other. They've had their shouting match all the way back to Beacon. Not even Weiss and Ruby had argument's that lasted this long.

_Mostly because Ruby backs down before the argument gets too heated. You'd expect Blake to be the same..._

You would, wouldn't you? While Weiss was being... aggressive, (and maybe unfair to the Faunus) she did have a point. The White Fang _were_ terrorists, no doubt about that. Sympathetic terrorists, yes, but terrorists all the same. Even if they have a good cause.

Maybe that's why Blake's so upset? There's plenty of White Fang sympathizers in Vale.

"They're terrorists!" Weiss exclaims, cutting Yang from her thoughts. "You realize _that's_ the group you're defending, right?! An organization dead-set on wiping humanity out!"

"Alright, calm-" Yang tries to cut in (again) but Blake cuts her off. (Again)

"Why do you think they hate humanity so much?! It's because of people like Cardin, people like _you_ that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

"People like me-?! What do you mean by that?!"

"I mean you're discriminatory!"

"I'm a victim!" Weiss shouts back, shocking Blake into silence. Before she could recover, Weiss continues. "I _despise_ the White Fang because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual _bloodshed_. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very _difficult_ childhood."

Ruby reaches out to her partner. "Weiss-"

"That's why I hate the White Fang!" Weiss shouts, ignoring her partner and stepping closer to Blake. "They're all killers and thieves! They're nothing more than _animals_!" Weiss snaps.

Blake snaps too. "Well maybe _we_ were tired of being _called_ animals!"

Silence.

"You're... a Faunus?" Ruby says out loud, as Weiss slowly backs away from Blake. Yang was still silent, as was Mettle.

"..." Blake was silent as well, before she dashes to the dorm's open window, leaping into the night.

"Blake!" Yang finally calls out, going to the window to go after her partner before-

_Blake's a Faunus. She can see in the dark, and you can't. With how dark it is, and with Blake having her semblance and Gambol Shroud, she could evade you easily. You won't be able to catch up to her._

"I have to try!" Yang says out loud, not caring that Weiss was still in the room.

_You can't._

Yang screams in frustration and pounds her fist on the windowsill, Ruby and Weiss staring at her.

Team LBSR was divided.

* * *

Blake leaps from rooftop to rooftop, going away from her dorm room as fast as she can.

Stupid, so _stupid._ What was she thinking, lashing out like that?! Now her team's going to tell Ozpin, and she'll be hunted by both Beacon _and_ the Fang, and Adam would-

No. She just has to run. Far from Beacon, far from Vale. But...

She lands on the street, not far from Beacon but far from it's dormitories. She had to think. Does she really want this?

She still cares about her team. About Yang and Ruby. Even Weiss to an extent. But would they accept her? Weiss didn't. And while Ruby and Yang stayed neutral during their argument, has their stance changed? Do they think she's a criminal?

Do they hate her?

Blake felt herself start to cry, but she didn't care. No one would be able to see her any-

"Salutations!" 

Immediately, Blake jumps at the sound. Looking behind her she sees a girl with short curly hair, a grey and white dress, and a black and green collar.

Blake had to think a bit to remember the girl's name. "... Penny?"

"Salutations!" Penny says again. "Hello again Blake! May I ask what's made you so upset?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I put Penny as Blake's companion instead of Sun just because I felt like it? Yeah. Just wanted to write Penny some more since she only got a cameo last chapter and I wanted to make up for that.
> 
> Sun's not gone though! I'll have to bullshit an excuse to have him help Team LBSR find Blake, but bullshitting's my specialty. Spoilers? Kinda, but there's no way I'm cutting out Sun('s abs) from the fic!


	11. Perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly minor critique (more of a nitpick, like most "critiques" of RWBY nowadays) but do we have any idea what exactly did Sun and Blake do while the latter was running away? Sun said that Blake hadn't actually talked in two days, so what happened? Did Sun just take her to stay somewhere and just awkwardly try to start a conversation? Where did they even stay? Are their rumors in Vale about two teenagers who stayed alone in a hotel for almost two days?

Blake had no idea what to think about Penny Polendina.

On one hand, the girl was nice. Penny noticed how upset she was ("Judging by your accelerated heartbeat and moisture in your eyes, I estimate a 75% that you're upset about something.") and offered to let Blake stay in a hotel she was staying in. Blake didn't really have a place to stay, so she agreed, despite barely knowing Penny. Besides, if worse came to worst, she was pretty confident that she could defend herself if she needed to.

But Penny didn't have any ill intentions. She was true to her word, even offering Blake her bed! Blake still took the couch though. She was already intruding enough as is.

Still, there was still something... off about Penny. Maybe it was the girl's childlike personality, or the fact that she's staying in a hotel with no sign of a guardian, or just how readily she offered Blake a hand...

It was just odd. 

Sighing, Blake turned over on the couch she was using as a bed, trying her best to sleep. It didn't matter. She'd just stay here for one night, leave, and-

Figure out what to do from there.

* * *

Yang hadn't said anything to Weiss since the day Blake left.

That didn't mean that she was depressed or anything. It was the opposite, actually. Yang was either actively avoiding Weiss or just giving her the cold shoulder. It was pretty obvious she was mad, even if Ruby _hadn't_ been living with Yang for so long.

Weiss on the other hand, was being _especially_ cranky, either ranting about how Blake was a criminal, or ranting at mistakes that Ruby made, or ranting at Yang herself. Ruby still didn't know if her partner's newest tantrums was because of hidden anxiety and guilt for their missing teammate, or worst, annoyance and Weiss genuinely wanting Blake behind bars.

Ruby groaned, looking up at the ceiling of Team LBSR's cramped dorm. For some reason, the bunk beds haven't arrived yet. Maybe it was for the best- Blake was still missing, and the tension with the remaining members of the team were so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Now wasn't the time for bunk beds.

Ruby knows she was being pretty neutral about this whole mess, but she couldn't help it. Yeah, Weiss was being _kinda_ racisty, but Ruby was still her partner and Weiss brought up some good points... but so did Blake. And now it felt like she was trying to keep the peace between her partner and her sister. Ugh, was this how Yang felt when she and Weiss were at each other's throats? Jeez.

Ruby could only sulk. She wanted to fix this, but she had no idea how.

* * *

Weiss had no idea how to fix the unbearable tension in the team.

Of course, there was Blake. In truth, Weiss couldn't make up her mind on whether or not the faunus girl (what kind of Faunus, Weiss didn't know. And at this moment? Didn't particularly care.) was some kind of assassin sent from the White Fang or just _happened_ to be part of the White Fang and still genuinely cared about her. And she still didn't know which story Weiss liked better. 

Then, there was Yang. They hadn't spoken at all since that night, and she still didn't know- and my, there was a lot of things Weiss didn't know, wasn't there?- if Yang's cold silence was because of her semblance (doubtful, with Yang's eyes still keeping their lilac hue. If only the color of her eyes changed along with other emotions...) or of Yang's own accord. It was still quite obvious Yang was upset at Weiss.

Then, there was her partner. Ruby still tried to still be on Weiss's side, but she can tell the girl was torn between Blake, her sister, and her partner.

It all frustrates Weiss to no end, alongside not knowing for sure if she was on the right. She knew that her frustration was starting to seep into her actions, and starting to affect her teammates, but she couldn't help it.

She just wished everything was back to normal.

* * *

Yang was pissed. Pissed at Weiss, pissed at her own inability to stop Blake, pissed at the world in general really.

Of course, Mettle was also there, not exactly keeping her calm but keeping her from lunging at Weiss. Yang knew that her being angry wasn't helping (and she couldn't forget that, with Mettle reminding her of that every five minutes) but what else could she do? Blake was missing, and she couldn't do anything about it. It's been a whole day without a sign of her partner coming back at all, and Yang was planning to look for her in Vale, but where would they even start? Would Weiss even help, or just sell Blake out?

At the reminder of the reason this whole mess happened, Yang frowned. Weiss wasn't exactly helping either, with her ranting about everything from Ruby's grades to Yang 'ignoring the problem'. It was annoying to both the sisters, but Ruby still seemed determined to stay neutral. 

_Being angry won't he-_

Oh shut up Mettle.

* * *

Penny knew she was odd to most of the people she meets.

She didn't fault them for _thinking_ she was odd of course! Penny knew that despite her father having done a _brilliant_ job creating her, she knows that she does not have enough data on social interactions to know what it was like being a 'normal girl' to act like a 'normal girl'...

Which was why it was _wonderful_ for Ruby to consider her a friend the first time they met! Of course, the circumstances weren't ideal (after further research on social norms, Penny had found that she was supposed to feel 'embarassed' after knocking into someone, especially in front of three others.) but it was still quite nice to have a new friend!

And then, only three hours, twenty minutes and forty seconds later, she had met Blake again! Again, the circumstances weren't ideal at all, and Blake was quite upset, but she had accepted Penny's offer to stay with her in her hotel, and while Penny would have to explain to her handlers _why_ she brought a girl to her hotel room (Atlas's spies were always keeping an eye on her. She only hoped they had not told father, or that he did not jump to any conclusions. She did not want to subject Blake with 'The Dad Talk') she did not regret on helping someone who was obviously in need.

But the reason on _why_ Blake was upset was still a mystery. As Penny lied on her bed (she had no need to sleep, but social norms dictated that being up this late was unacceptable) she wondered why. Was it trouble with her team? It would explain why she wasn't with her team, but Penny doubted Ruby would be so cruel as to kick her teammate to the curb. Perhaps with just one member of her team then?

The easiest way to answer that question was to ask Blake herself, but it was already quite late (and Blake must be asleep, if she abides to societal norm) and if the subject had already caused Blake emotional distress, then Penny had no right to intrude.

Penny closed her eyes, already activating her sleep mode. Yes, even if Blake wasn't her friend (yet), Penny should make her be as comfortable as possible until she is ready to face her team. Maybe they could even bond and-!

**Sleep mode activated.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Sun('s abs) this chapter, but definitely in the next. Anyways, this was more of a filler chapter than anything. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Also I just realized that the only dialogue this chapter was from a flashback and near the end. Hm.

**Author's Note:**

> Since Mettle was never fully explained in Canon, I've taken liberties in what the semblance actually does. For one, I gave it two modes: Passive and Active.  
> Passive are the italics that Yang occasionally gets. It might seem like just a voice in Yang's head, but it's more like an intrusive thought. A part of her brain is constantly making calculations and deductions and often giving their own 'thoughts' in any situation Yang is in, wether it's a logical suggestion or a cold-hearted 'thought', (the former being telling Yang to focus or behave while the latter is calling Ruby an idiot.) It's not exactly Yang who's thinking those thoughts, but a 'Yang' using Mettle. Hope that makes sense.  
> I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can.


End file.
